Greenpoint Tunnel Work Moves Ahead

August 13th, 2013

The Fix&Fortify effort at the Greenpoint Tube moved ahead last weekend with an impressive series of accomplishments that saw a substantial amount of infrastructure repair while employees also took advantage of the 55-hour service outage to make repairs and aesthetic improvements to nearby stations.

The Greenpoint Tube carries service beneath Newtown Creek and connects the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn with Long Island City in Queens. Repair and mitigation work necessitated by Superstorm Sandy is being performed during a series of 12 weekend shutdowns this year, disrupting service only when ridership is lightest.

Between late Friday night and early Monday morning, workers blitzed the out of service portion of the crosstown line. They repaired 1,200 feet of track and supporting hardware, repaired 120 feet of duct bank, which carries electrical and communications cables through the tube. Workers also took advantage of the absence of train service to paint 14,000 feet of station ceilings and columns at Greenpoint Av. and 21 St.

Filled with three million gallons of salt water at the height of the storm, tracks and equipment were totally submerged and the tunnel’s pump controls, electrical, communications, fan control and signal equipment were all heavily damaged. Immersed in salt water, the power cables were determined to be corroding from the inside. Worsening corrosion was also found on the outside of rails and fasteners raising the potential for short circuits. The controls for ventilation, lighting and communication systems were destroyed.

When the project is complete, tunnel lighting and emergency lights will have been replaced along approximately 1.8 track miles, conforming to the latest Federal and Transit Lighting Standard. Additionally, back-up of emergency lighting will also be installed. This weekend work is being supported by substantial bus shuttle operations.